Punisher MAX #62Review

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Punisher takes a trip across the border.

By Jesse Schedeen

Anyone who chooses to be a continued fan of Punisher MAX is going to have to accept that he book's best days are behind it. Garth Ennis' long run was easily the best work that has ever been done with the character. There's no way a newcomer, let alone three writers working on separate storyarcs, have a prayer of living up to that pedigree. Based on Gregg Hurwitz's work on both MAX Foolkiller books, I was still hoping for quality work. I'd actually say Foolkiller is one of the great, under-appreciated gems at Marvel. And while this arc is entertaining for the most part, it doesn't even hit that same level of simple, refined storytelling.

Ina storyline that I'm pretty sure I've already read at least once in a Punisher comic, as well as a Wolverine comic, Frank travels south of the border to put a stop to a twisted gang of drug runners. As Frank learns this month, the gang is kidnapping innocent young girls to work in their underground meth labs. This story relies on a very tried and true method in Punisher storytelling. It presents a cast of villains so despicable that you can't wait for Frank to start unleashing his full fury upon them. What better way to make the reader root for the hero? For the most part, this works well. Frank puts the hurt on some very bad people, and vigilante justice is served.

Unfortunately, the story offers nothing outside of that very primal level. Ennis' run worked so well because it constantly critiqued America's culture of violence and war and how it makes men like Frank Castle tragically possible. This story, by comparison, is too simplistic. Hurwitz doesn't seem to have a strong handle on Frank's character. He appears to be the most simple of all Marvel's lineup, but there's a lot of subtle depth there that most writers miss. I'm finding that Hurwitz tends to work better with new and original characters. He writes a great Foolkiller, yet even that series has started to lose steam now that Punisher has become a guest star. If nothing else, though, I really enjoyed the ending sequence in this issue. It offers a good deal of possibility for the story to move into more interesting and unique directions.

By all means, read this arc if you want a decent, no-frills Punisher story. However, even if MAX looks better than War Journal, the latter is by far the more well-written story. In all honesty, both books have so many flaws at the moment that I'd rather just curl up with my Ennis hardcovers and pass the hours with the definitive portrayal of this vigilante crusader.